You know some thing's bad when the first time you hear about it you think it's some kind of spoof or a joke...Insert "rapper" Asher Roth. Quick bio: White kid from the suburbs, butterflies and ice cream trucks, starts listening to rap in junior high, makes his own raps about hot chicks and marijuana, corporate sponsorship, record deal.... you know where it goes from here.
Ordinarily this kind of scenario would annoy me but wouldn't be offensive enough for me to blog about it. I mean, watching throngs of upper-class white kids screaming in ecstasy at MTV Spring Break while some talent-less musician spews out lousy music is nothing new. However, statements like these tend to get under my skin:
(Referring to African American rap stars)'You guys are always going off about how much money you have. Do you realize what's going on in this world right now?' All these black rappers,African rappers, talking about how much money they have. 'Do you realize what's going on in Africa right now?'" Roth says. "It's just like, 'You guys are disgusting. Talking about billions and billions of dollars you have. And spending it frivolously, when you know, the Motherland is suffering beyond belief right now.'"
Wow. Who made this kid the authority on how people should spend their money and on what? Asher Roth was not raised in a situation where scarcity was the norm, as is the case with many of the rappers he speaks of. It's easy to blow money on frivolous things when you come from a place of having nothing; Where material things have no permanence because they may be taken away at anytime. This is a common thing among underprivileged people who come into money.
I am in no way condoning a culture of excess. I myself donate as much as I can to charities even as an underprivileged youth; But the other big problem I have with Roth's statement is that he implies that just because a person is black that they automatically have an obligation to be responsible for the welfare of Africans more so than inhabitants of any other continent. So I suppose then that white celebrities should only offer help to fair-skinned peoples Mr. Roth?
The final insult is that while he raves on about helping Africans he turns around and makes statements such as blogging that he was "hangin out with nappy headed hoes". I know this shouldn't upset me. He was probably referring to African women that he was mentoring in "The Motherland", right? Puh-eeze! This kid has no street cred, is not actively involved in charities himself, and is not educated (sorry people but an AA in basic education, or "because my parents made me degree" doesn't count). He raps about getting high, sleeping around, and the "hardship" of having a Dad that wasn't around as much as he'd have liked because he had to work a lot.
Despite all this he is adored by a generation of white-picket-fence-kids who think statements like these make him cool, edgy, and radical, all the while I remain unable to listen to the radio or watch music television because to subject myself to long term exposure would put me at risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and the deterioration of brain cells.
"Corporate force's runnin this rap shit"-Mos Def
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